Apparatus for maintaining freshness in a packaged product

ABSTRACT

A device for maintaining freshness in a packaged consumable product, which includes multiple portions of the consumable product, includes a container defining an interior and having an opening, a closure that can be mounted to the container and is configured to move between an opened position that allows access to the interior of the container and a closed position where the closure closes and seals the opening.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/449,343, filed Mar. 4, 2011, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Food and other perishable items can be packaged such that the consumableproduct within the package can be enough for several uses or servingsand thus can be used over a period of time. After contemporary productpackages are opened for the first time they normally cannot be sealedproperly and the product inside can be wasted or its quality andfreshness can be reduced due to humidity in the air. Several attemptshave been made to provide sealing means for such consumable packagessuch as closures or clips and stickers for soft bags and tacked tabs forcarton bags; however, these can often be cumbersome and cannot properlyseal the product

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, a device for maintaining freshness of a consumableproduct provided in an original package, which includes multipleportions of the consumable product includes a container sized to fitwithin the original package of the consumable product and defining aninterior and having an opening, a closure having an access door mountedthereto, the access door movable with respect to the closure between aclosed position and an open position, wherein the closure is associatedwith the opening of the container and is positionable between a firstposition wherein the closure closes the opening when the access door isin the closed position and a second interior fill position wherein theconsumable product can be placed into the interior, and a guide operablycoupled to the access door and moveable with the access door between astored position when the access door is in the closed position and adispensing position when the access door is in the open position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art consumable product.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a device, for maintaining freshness in aconsumable product according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 2 with an access doorin a closed position.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 2 with the accessdoor in an opened condition.

FIG. 5 is a blown-up view of a portion of the device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a device, for maintaining freshness in aconsumable product, according to a second embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a prior art consumable product 2. Theconsumable product 2 includes an original package 4, such as a cardboardor paperboard box, which can include various indicia 6. Such indicia 6can include product information such as an expiration date andnutritional information and can also include various pictures and games.A plastic bag 8 can contain a consumable product (not shown) and can besealed and included in the original package 4 for purchase by a user.The plastic bag 8 can be of the type that can be opened after purchasesuch that the consumable product can be dispensed from the bag when auser desires to consume the product.

Embodiments of the invention include a device to allow a user tomaintain freshness of the consumable product, easily dispense theconsumable product, and if desired utilize the original box. FIG. 2illustrates a device 10 for maintaining freshness in a packagedconsumable product, which includes multiple portions of the consumableproduct according to a first embodiment of the invention. A container12, a closure 14, and a guide 16 are illustrated as being included inthe device 10. The container 12 can be sized to fit within the originalpackage 4 of the consumable product 2 so that the exterior surface ofthe original package 4 of the consumable product 2 can be viewed by auser of the container 12. The container 12 can take varying forms, andcan include a bottom wall 18 integrally attached with a side wall 20. Aportion 21 of the side wall 20 can be ramped to aid in dispensing of aconsumable product located within the interior 22. A guide receptacle 70having a track 72 can also be included in the interior 22 of thecontainer 12.

The container 12 can define an interior 22 and an upper portion 24 ofthe side wall 20 can define an opening 26. In the illustratedembodiment, the upper portion 24 of the sidewall 20 includes an annularrim 28, which surrounds and defines the opening 26. A downturned lip 29can surround a periphery of the opening 26.

The closure 14 can be mounted to the container 12 in any suitablemanner. For example, the closure 14 can be capable of being operablycoupled to the rim 28 of the container 12. More specifically, theclosure 14 is illustrated as having a central section 30 and an outerrim 32 attachable to the rim 28 of the container 12. The outer rim 32 ofthe closure 14 includes an annular clamping section 34 defined by aspaced inner and outer walls 36 and 38 for receiving the rim 28 of thecontainer 12 in the space 40 between the inner and outer walls 36 and38. The annular clamping section 34 of the closure 14 can be integrallyjoined to the central section 30 of the closure 14. The annular clampingsection 34 can be shaped or angled so as to firmly engage the rim 28 ofthe container 12 when the annular clamping section 34 of the closure 14is applied to the rim 28 of the container 12. To the extent that theinference fit between the annular clamping section 34 and the rim 28 donot provide enough frictional interengagement to maintain the closure 14on the rim 28 during use, the closure 14 may also include an additionallatching mechanism (not shown) to hold the closure 14 onto the rim 28 ofthe container 12 once the closure 14 is mounted to the rim 28 of thecontainer 12. Any suitable latching mechanism may be used to retain theclosure 14 on the rim 28.

An access door 42 can be mounted to the closure 14 and can be movablewith respect to the closure 14. A hinge 44 or other mechanism can beprovided between the access door 42 and the closure 14 to create amoveable mounting between the access door 42 and the closure 14. Theaccess door 42 can also include an outer rim 45 attachable to the rim 28of the container 12. The outer rim 45 like the outer rim 32 of theclosure 14 can include an annular clamping section 46 defined by spacedinner and outer walls 47 and 48 for receiving the rim 28 of thecontainer 12 in the space 49 between the inner and outer walls 47 and48. The annular clamping section 46 can be shaped or angled so as tofirmly engage the rim 28 of the container 12 when the annular clampingsection 46 of the access door 42 is sealingly mounted to the rim 28 ofthe container 12. In this manner, the container 12 can include a firstsealing surface and the closure 14 and access door 42 can collectivelyinclude a second sealing surface that mates with the first sealingsurface when the closure 14 and the access door are in the closedposition.

The guide 16 can be formed in any suitable manner for aiding in thedispensing of the consumable product and has been illustrated asincluding a body 50 having a first shoulder 52 and a second shoulder 54.The guide 16 can include at least one protrusion 56 at a distal end 58thereof A protrusion 56 has been illustrated as being located on each ofthe distal ends 58. The protrusion 56 can be sized to fit within thetrack 72 of the guide receptacle 70.

The guide 16 can be operably coupled to the access door 42 and moveablewith the access door 42. For example, the operable coupling of the guide16 to the access door 42 can include a mechanical coupling that convertsmovement of the access door 42 to movement of the guide 16. Themechanical coupling can include any suitable mechanical coupling forconverting movement of the access door 42 into movement of the guide 16.In the illustrated embodiment, the mechanical coupling includes at leasta portion of a spur gear 60 located on the access door 42 and at least aportion of rack gear 62 mounted on the guide 16. Alternatively, at leasta portion of a spur gear can be located on the guide 16 and the rackgear can be mounted on the access door 42. The portion of the spur gear60 and the portion of the rack gear 62 can be molded or otherwisemounted or coupled with the access door 42 and the guide 16,respectively. It will be understood that the spur gear 60 and rack gear62 are shown by example and the selection of these design elementsshould not be interpreted as limiting on the invention.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 2-5, pivotal movement of the access door42 causes the associated spur gear 60 to rotate therewith, therebytranslating along the interengaged rack gear 62. The rack gear 62thereby extends the guide 16 to the opened position as the access door42 is rotated to the open position. Conversely, as the access door 42 isreturned to the closed position, the interengagement of the spur gear 60with the rack gear 62 on the guide 16 causes the guide 16 to return tothe retracted position within the container 12.

The closure 14 can include a locking mechanism to hold the closure 14 inthe opened position. An exemplary locking mechanism 80 has beenillustrated in FIG. 3 and can include at least one retainer 82 on theaccess door, which is aligned with a retainer 84 on the closure 14. Tothe extent that the frictional interengagement of the spur gear 60 withthe rack gear 62 is insufficient to maintain the access door 42 in theopened position during movement of the container 12 (such as duringpouring actions), the locking mechanism 80 can be employed to retain theaccess door 12 in the opened position to prevent inadvertent movement ofthe access door 42. The retainer 82 on the access door 42 and theretainer 84 on the closure 14 are configured to releasably engage withone another when the access door 42 is moved to the opened position.More specifically, the retainer 84 on the closure 14 has beenillustrated as two tabs, which can retain the tab forming the retainer82 on the access door 42 through an interference fit.

The closure 14 can be associated with the opening 26 of the container 12and is positionable between a first position, which is illustrated inFIG. 3, wherein the closure 14 closes the opening 26 when the accessdoor 42 is in the closed position and a second interior fill position(FIG. 2) wherein the consumable product can be placed into the interior22. In this manner, the closure 14 can be detachably mounted to thecontainer 12 around a periphery of the opening 26. The hinge 44 allowsfor relative movement between the access door 42 and the closure 14. Forexample, when the closure 14 is mounted to the container 12, the accessdoor 42 can be moved between a closed position (FIG. 3) where the accessdoor 42 closes the remainder of the opening 26 and an opened position(FIG. 4) that allows access to the interior 22 of the container 12. Asthe sealing surfaces engage through an interference fit, a portion of aperiphery of the closure 14 is aligned with a portion of a periphery ofthe opening 20 on the container 12 and a portion of a periphery of theaccess door 42 is aligned with the remainder of the periphery of theopening 20 when the access door 42 is in the closed position and theclosure 14 is mounted to the container 12. When the closure 14 andaccess door 42 are in the closed position the interior 22 of thecontainer 12 can be sealed for freshness.

Initially, a user can place the closure 14 in the interior fill positionby fully or partially removing the closure 14 from the container 12 suchthat a consumable product can be transferred from its original packagingand placed into the interior 22. If the product is located in a plasticbag inside the original packaging, the plastic bag may be discarded atthis time. The user can then place the guide 16 into the guidereceptacle 70 with the protrusions 56 located in the track 72. The usercan then place the outer rim 32 of the closure 14 on the rim 28 of thecontainer 12 and close the access door 42 so that the outer rim 45engages the rim 28 of the container 12. As the sealing surfaces of thecontainer 12, closure 32, and access door 42 engage the portion of thespur gear 60 engages with the rack gear 62 of the guide 16. With theclosure 14 in the closed position and the access door 42 in the closedposition the consumable product can be kept fresh between uses.

The container 12 can then be placed in the original package 4 of theconsumable product 2 after the consumable product has been removed fromthe original package 4 and placed into the interior 22 of the container12. The downturned lip 29 can form a receiver for an upper edge of theoriginal package 4 of the consumable product, when the original package4 is inserted over the container 12. Alternatively, the container 12 maybe taller than the original package 4 and thus may not receive the upperedge of the original package 4. Thus, the indicia 6 of the originalpackage 4 can be utilized while the consumable product can be kept freshby the device 10.

When a user desires to use a portion or serving of the consumableproduct, the access door 42 can be moved to the opened position (FIG.4). As the guide 16 is operably coupled to the access door 42 andmoveable with the access door 42, it can move between a stored position(FIG. 3) when the access door 42 is in the closed position and adispensing position when the access door 42 is in the open position(FIG. 4). More specifically, as the access door 42 is moved from theclosed position to the opened position the spur gear 60 is rotatedcausing the rack gear 62 to move such that the guide 16 is extended intothe dispensing position. The at least one protrusion 56 of the guide 16can be in juxtaposition with the at least one track 72 to maintain alocation of the guide 16 as the guide 16 is moved between the storedposition and the dispensing position. The engagement of the spur gear 60and the rack gear 62 can more clearly be seen in FIG. 5. In this manner,the guide 16 can be moved from the stored position and to the dispensingposition and the guide 16 can form a slide-out pour spout. When a userwants to dispense the consumable product, the user can tip the device 10and the consumable product can travel through gravitational forces alongthe ramped portion 21 of the side wall 20 and along the guide 16. Inthis manner the guide 16 can help direct the product contents duringdispensing.

Embodiments of the invention described herein can be used with productsthat typically come in rectangular original product containers. Thus, itis contemplated that embodiments of the invention can come in varyingsizes such that the device can be used with a variety of prepackagedconsumable products.

FIG. 6 illustrates a device 110 according to a second embodiment of theinvention. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment;therefore, like parts will be identified with like numerals increased by100, with it being understood that the description of the like parts ofthe first embodiment applies to the second embodiment, unless otherwisenoted. As with the first embodiment, the device 110 includes a container112, a closure 114 that can be mounted to the container 112 and havingan access door 42 mounted thereto, and a guide 116. Unlike the firstembodiment, the container 112 includes an adjustment mechanism 180 whichcan be moved to adjust a size of an exterior of the container 112 to fitwithin a variety of original consumable product packages, when theconsumable product package is inserted onto the exterior of thecontainer 12. In the illustrated example, an exterior of the container112 includes at least one recess 182 having a depth and various grooves184 located along the depth. The adjustment mechanism 180 includes aninsert 186 having tabs 188 and an extension wall 190. The tabs 188 arelocated at first and second ends of the extensions wall 190 such thatwhen the insert 186 is mounted within the recess 182 along the depththereof the tabs 188 can engage one of the grooves 184 and the insert186 can be caused to extend beyond at least one side wall 120 of thecontainer 112 to adjust an overall size of the exterior of the container112 and allowing the container 112 to fit better within an originalproduct package.

It is contemplated that alternative adjustment mechanisms can be used.For example, an alternative adjustment mechanism can include a firstwall portion of the container that is slidingly received into a secondwall portion of the container, wherein movement of the second wallportion relative to the first wall portion thereby changes the size ofthe exterior of the container. As yet another example, the container caninclude at least one adjustable side moveable such that it can slide inand out from the remainder of the container 112 to create a larger orsmaller interior as desired by a user.

The above described embodiments provide a variety of benefits includingthat freshness can be maintained in a packaged consumable product, whichincludes multiple portions of the consumable product. The embodimentsdescribed above allow the product to be accessed as many times as neededwhile preserving the quality and freshness of the product. Further, aconsumer can have continued enjoyment of the outside packaging of theproduct box and can continue to view the product information on thatpackage. Further, the embodiments described above will not disruptcurrent product storage inside the home.

While the invention has been specifically described in connection withcertain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that thisis by way of illustration and not of limitation. Reasonable variationand modification are possible within the scope of the forgoingdisclosure and drawings without departing from the spirit of theinvention which is defined in the appended claims. For example, theabove described embodiments can be used in nonfood and non-perishableapplications such as laundry treating chemistry where the products canalso be sensitive to humidity and can be consumed in several portionslocated in the package. Further, the above described embodiments canprovide benefits in other fields such as automotive, construction, andlandscaping.

1. A device for maintaining freshness of a consumable product providedin an original package, which includes multiple portions of theconsumable product comprises: a container sized to fit within theoriginal package of the consumable product and defining an interior andhaving an opening; a closure having an access door mounted thereto, theaccess door movable with respect to the closure between a closedposition and an opened position, wherein the closure is associated withthe opening of the container and is positionable between a firstposition wherein the closure closes the opening when the access door isin the closed position and a second interior fill position wherein theconsumable product can be placed into the interior; and a guide operablycoupled to the access door and moveable with the access door between astored position when the access door is in the closed position and adispensing position when the access door is in the opened position. 2.The device of claim 1 wherein the operable coupling of the guide to theaccess door comprises a mechanical coupling that converts movement ofthe access door to movement of the guide.
 3. The device of claim 2wherein the mechanical coupling comprises at least a portion of a spurgear mounted to one of the access door and the guide and at least aportion rack gear mounted on the other of the access door and the guide.4. The device of claim 3, further comprising a hinge provided betweenthe access door and the closure to comprise the moveable mountingbetween the access door and the closure.
 5. The device of claim 4wherein a portion of a periphery of the closure is aligned with aportion of a periphery of the opening on the container, and a portion ofa periphery of the access door is aligned with the remainder of theperiphery of the opening when the access door is in the closed positionand the closure is mounted to the container.
 6. The device of claim 1wherein the guide has at least one protrusion at a distal end thereof,and the container further comprises at least one track in juxtapositionwith the at least one protrusion on the guide to maintain a location ofthe guide as the guide is moved between the stored position and thedispensing position.
 7. The device of claim 1 wherein the containerfurther comprises a first sealing surface and the closure includes asecond sealing surface that mates with the first sealing surface whenthe closure is in the closed position.
 8. The device of claim 1 whereinthe closure further comprises a locking mechanism to hold the accessdoor in the opened position.
 9. The device of claim 8 wherein thelocking mechanism comprises at least one retainer on one of the accessdoor and the closure, and an aligned at least one retainer on the otherof the access door and the closure, wherein the at least one retainer onthe access door and the at least one retainer on the closure areconfigured to releasably engage with one another when the access door ismoved to the opened position.
 10. The device of claim 1 wherein theclosure is detachably mounted to the container around a periphery of theopening in the closed position.
 11. The device of claim 1 wherein thecontainer includes an adjustment mechanism which can be moved to adjusta lateral size of an exterior of the container to fit within a varietyof consumable product packages, when the consumable product package isinserted onto the exterior of the container.
 12. The device of claim 11wherein the adjustment mechanism comprises a first wall portion of thecontainer that is slidingly received into a second wall portion of thecontainer, wherein movement of the second wall portion relative to thefirst wall portion thereby changes the size of the exterior of thecontainer.
 13. The device of claim 11 wherein an exterior of thecontainer comprises at least one recess having a depth, and theadjustment mechanism comprises an insert having an extension wall andtabs at first and second ends thereof, wherein the insert can be mountedwithin the recess along the depth thereof so that the tabs engage aportion of the recess and the insert extends beyond at least one wall ofthe container to adjust an overall size of the exterior of thecontainer.
 14. The device of claim 1 wherein the container has adownturned lip surrounding a periphery of the opening, forming areceiver for an upper edge of the original package of the consumableproduct, when the original package is inserted over the container afterthe consumable product has been removed from the original package andplaced into the interior of the container.